1,000 Light Years
by A Vulcan's Kiss
Summary: !1,000 Challenge! • It was a couple weeks after McCoy had been forced to mind-meld with the Spock of the mirror universe. He'd gotten over it, or at least that's what he kept telling himself. • Prompt #7 - "'Always There' ft. McCoy and Spock" • [1,000 Prompts, 1,000 Stories] • Will accept Suggestions/Prompts • R&R Please! • !Each chapter is a one!shot! • CH7 UP!
1. Finding Infinity - Kirk

**_1,000 Light Years_**

**_by_**

**_A Vulcan's Kiss_**

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_Prompt 1: Finding Infinity_

_Ever since Kirk saw Buzz Lightyear in that archaic Toy Story movie as a kid he'd been on a quest to find infinity, and now years later, he thinks he's finally found it._

_. . ._

James Tiberius Kirk is not a fool by any means, and thus he knows that "finding infinity" is essentially, impossible. After all, infinity isn't an object _or_ a material thing; if anything it could be considered a theory. But he's isn't Spock, so he doesn't ponder on the theory part too much.

Yet, ever since he was a 8 year old kid and Todd, one of the neighborhood boys on his street, invited him to his house to watch an archaic film called _"Toy Story"_ he couldn't help but wonder; _could_ infinity be found? He remembered looking at the screen as the character, Buzz Lightyear, flew around and shouted his catch phrase: _"To infinity and beyond!"_ His 8 year old mind reasoned that whatever infinity was it_ had_ to be out in space, because after all, Buzz _is_ a spaceman. Spacemen went into space, that was just common sense. He'd determined then, as the credits were rolling, that if anyone were to find infinity it'd be _him_. And so he'd just have to go into space to find it.

By the time he'd graduated from Starfleet Academy he'd long since reasoned that "finding infinity" was a childish and fruitless effort. But even _with_ that logic of reasoning, he still hadn't lost his desire to search for it and one day, _catch_ it.

Some years later he became _Captain_ James Tiberius Kirk of the _U.S.S. Enterprise_, and two years into his mission he still didn't believe that he had found it. It wasn't until his third year as Captain when he decided to look, _really_ look, did he stumble upon it. It had been under his nose the whole time. Infinity wasn't a thing, but rather the highest level achievable in _any_ relationship. One of infinite gratitude, friendship, love and everything that he could think of.

And so, one late evening as he lay on the bed in his rooms gazing fondly at his two best friends, Chief Medical Officer; Leonard McCoy and First Officer _and_ Chief Science Officer; Spock, who he'd invited into his rooms to talk, he realized this. And because he was the first to finally unravel the mystery of infinity, which was undoubtedly one of the most important discoveries of man, he decided to announce it.

Interrupting their heated quarrel about the efficiency of one something or other that he honestly couldn't have cared less about. Unless, he'd admit, it was women. Women were _always_ efficient though, so he doubted they were fighting about them. But back to the point;

"I've found it." He said with a triumphant shout, sitting upright in his bed with a ear-splitting grin adorning his features. Barely contained joy rolling of his body in waves.

It was here, with his two best friends, who had long since stopped their little spat to gaze questioningly at their captain, that infinity was _found_.

"Found what, Jim?" McCoy asked softly.

He'd known Jim long enough to be able to tell when he friend was really excited about something. And most of those times it was better to act calm and levelheaded, because one just never knew what was running along on the treadmill of James Kirk's mind _or_ potential consequences it could have. And he'd rather be here; relaxing with the two people he cared most for, even if one _was_ a pointy-eared hobgoblin and only _partially_ human, then mending a broken bone because Kirk worked himself up into such a state that he hurt himself.

Said person looked back and forth between his two comrades before he replied with a dreamy sigh,

"Infinity."

And with that single word he fell back down onto his mattress with a crash, so enthralled was he with his new-found realization that he tuned out the voices of the two men below him, who decided to not question their Captain and his eccentric ways. And instead were now debating over whether or not infinity was something to be found, and went to sleep with one last thought rolling over in his head.

Infinity _was_ his greatest friends. And finally, after a life long search, they were found; and subsequently _infinity_ itself.

And if Captain James Tiberius Kirk could tell you one thing it'd be this; he'd never have to go searching _again_.

...

**Sneakpeak: **

Next Chapter: Prompt 2 - "Teach Me" ft. McCoy, Chekov and Spock

Doctor McCoy honestly didn't think of himself as the type of man to treat a patient badly, no matter how infuriating they were. Neither did he think himself the type to willingly ask _Spock_ to teach him something. And he hadn't thought that if he were to ask to be taught anything, that it'd be _meditating._

But today, he found himself doing all those things.

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**_~A Vulcan's Kiss_**


	2. Teach Me - McCoy, Chekov and Spock

**_1,000 Light Years_**

**_by_**

**_A Vulcan's Kiss_**

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_Prompt 2: Teach Me_

_Doctor McCoy honestly didn't think of himself as the type of man to treat a patient badly, no matter how infuriating they were. Neither did he think himself the type to willingly ask _Spock_ to teach him something. And he hadn't thought that if he were to ask to be taught anything, that it'd be _meditating_._

_But today, he found himself doing all those things._

_. . ._

Doctor Leonard McCoy's day hadn't began with a good start, hell, he can't even remember the last time one _did_. But today's morning was particularly worse then usual, not only was he awoken at 04:00 hours by an insistent knocking at his door, but when he got up and opened it no one was there. Nothing but what McCoy assumed to be the drunken laughter of that damn Russian ensign as it floated down the hallway and away from his room.

This was the_ third_ time the Russian decided to do a hit and run with McCoy's door. If the navigator did it again, well, he'd encounter a hit and run with McCoy's fist and a hypo-spray up his hindquarters. That was just how Mr. Leonard McCoy dealt with things, after all. With these revengeful thoughts in his head McCoy returned to his bed and attempted to get the last three hours of his well deserved rest before he had to wake up and start his day.

Alas, like all things concerning the good Doctor, it seemed, what he wanted refused present itself.

Instead of getting a good few hours of shut-eye he spent the whole night_ trying_ to, in what ended up being a hopeless endeavor and an utter waste of his time.

One moment he'd be cursing his covers, because they must have been the spawn of the devil to be as uncomfortable and hot as they were. The next moment he'd be cursing _himself_, because god damn it all to hell, now was _not_ the time to be thinking about his ex-wife or his daughter. _Now_ was the time to sleep, but apparently his mind didn't agree with that and rather enjoyed this game of _"Annoy the McCoy"_ and didn't plan to _stop_ playing anytime soon.

Surprisingly, when his alarm rung at 07:00 hours he _didn't_ throw it at the wall like he'd wanted to; even though he felt the act would have been completely justifiable and a great stress reliever.

Instead he took a deep breath, trudged out of bed for the _second_ time that day, promptly shut off said alarm and got ready for work.

Afterwards, as he was walking out of his rooms and toward Sickbay he made a pact with himself that _despite_ the dreadful start to his day he'd make the best of it. He was Leonard Horatio McCoy, damn it, and he'd dealt with a lot worse then mere 'lack of sleep.'

And for the most part he'd done a pretty good job of living up to the deal he'd made with himself. It was now minutes from the end of his shift and he hadn't had a single problem yet... _yet. _Of course, right after he thought that he didn't just have a _single_ problem, but a whole string of them.

That damn Russian ensign who _started all of this_ came in wanting a cure for his "wery ba' _headache_." Headache meaning "hangower", as he would have said. And in proper McCoy fashion he kicked the foreigner out of his Sickbay and refused.

But, as fate decided, that wouldn't be the end of it.

The little twerp just went and got his friend, _Sulu,_ and came back, both of them now begging and pleading for something to help the "poor guy's headache." Chekov pleading because he was the one who owned the currently throbbing head, Sulu because he was fed up listening to the man's complaining on the deck and just wanted him to stop.

It got to the point that their pleas became so loud and obnoxiously boisterous that his nurse, Christine Chapel, paused in her work of taking care of a patient and joined the discussion too. But not on McCoy's side, oh, no._ Theirs._

There was a point in Doctor McCoy's body, that when encountered and tempted, caused him to explode.

And as McCoy valiantly attempted to will away his own oncoming headache the combined voices of the three around him just became to much for him to handle and that point was reached. The kettle sung and McCoy exploded.

In a few seconds flat he'd grabbed a hypospray, filled it with the correct concoction, stabbed it in the shoulder of the godforsaken ensign and screamed;

"Get out! Get out! Get out! GET OUT!"

Silence filled the room and McCoy almost sighed in appreciation of it; but instead he violently pushed the navigator and Sulu toward the door with a shove and afterward collapsed on an empty bed with audible groan.

Nurse Chapel just stared at the doctor for a few moments, looked at the duo whom hovered nervously by the entryway then turned on her heel and went back to her patient.

Chekov and Sulu didn't do anything for a couple more moments, just stared at each other for some time until Chekov tugged on the hand of his friend and walked out. Not until after saying;

"Doktor, you seem stress'. Perhaps you shou' med-a-tate, the Wulcan could teash you, I bet."

For awhile after that the Doctor just sat there, his head in his hands, pondering over the events that had just passed.

Which in hindsight wasn't an intelligent idea, and in a few short minutes he'd worked himself up again and into a right furious state.

Looking at the clock hung on the wall McCoy saw that his shift was over and left with nothing but a harsh shout to Christine and a head full of angry contempt and exhaustion.

With those last words of the ensign rolling around in his mind, McCoy steered his way through the corridors of the ship with a good idea of where he was headed. And so it came as no surprise to him when he found himself at the door of Spock's room with only one thought in his mind.

"Teach me!" McCoy shouted, barging into the Vulcan's quarters. Frustration evident as he roughly grabbed the shoulders of the _pointy-eared devil_ and shook him just as hard. Had Spock been anybody else the gripping fingers may have hurt, but instead his mind is suddenly flooded by the intense thoughts of the irate man rather then pain.

And with those few short moments of McCoy touching him he knows everything he needs to, such as what McCoy wants to be taught exactly, without asking. So, he just stares calmly into the swirling blue orbs of the vexed man, stoically grabs each offending wrist belonging to the the doctor, removes them and whispers;

"Let us begin."

...

**Sneakpeek:**

Next Chapter: Prompt 3 - "Overcoming Fear" ft. Chekov

_The other day when Sulu had asked Chekov if he was scared of the dark the ensign had hastily stammered "N-no!" accompanied by a pink flush and a duck of his head. A bold-faced lie._

_Still, there was a certain truth to his fib; the Russian wasn't scared of the dark, oh no. He was _terrified_ of it._

_You wouldn't think that working on the Enterprise would help matters much, because out in space the lights were _always_ out._

_But surprisingly working as the ships navigator was just what he needed to overcome his fear._

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**_~A Vulcan's Kiss_**


	3. Overcoming Fear - Chekov

**_1,000 Light Years_**

**_by_**

**_A Vulcan's Kiss_**

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_Prompt 3: Overcoming Fear_

_The other day when Sulu had asked Chekov if he was scared of the dark the ensign had hastily stammered "N-no!" accompanied by a pink flush and a duck of his head. A bold-faced lie._

_Still, there was a certain truth to his fib; the Russian wasn't scared of the dark, oh no. He was _terrified_ of it._

_You wouldn't think that working on the Enterprise would help matters much, because out in space the lights were _always_ out._

_But surprisingly working as the ships navigator was just what he needed to overcome his fear._

_. . ._

Chekov prided himself in having as much integrity as was humanely possible, so he didn't often practice the art of lying.

But when Sulu had asked him if he was scared of the dark he couldn't suppress the urgent "No!" that had passed through his lips. Honestly, he wasn't even sure _why_ he hadn't just told his friend the truth, but he supposed it was more out of embarrassment then out of anything else. After all, what kind of man would take up a job in space where it was _always_ pitch black? Space, where night ruled every hour with an iron first and casted his inky blotches upon the skies.

Only a fool would do that, and apparently Chekov was one of the biggest around.

It wasn't until he had taken his first step onto the _U.S.S. Enterprise_ that he realized just how_ much_ of a fool he'd been.

Why, he was just setting himself up for failure. He was the _navigator_, meaning he was on the deck of the ship for the better part of his day; staring out into space, out into _darkness_.

At first the thought of having to direct _his_ way _and_ the ships way through his greatest fear had petrified him. It had gotten to the point to where he'd been so riled up and nervous that he _almost_ didn't show up to the job on his first day. But after some deep breathes he'd managed to calm himself down to a reasonable state and make his first appearance as the ships new ensign and pilot.

Really though, his job could be considered easy. He didn't do much except control the weaponry, handle the typical routine scans and once in a blue moon plot a course of two in an effort to help relieve the stress of his friend and the ships helmsman, Sulu.

But even just that little bit of work everyday counted as a tremendous effort in the long term.

In the end, when he really thought about it, being the ships navigator served as a therapy of some sort. Not only was he having to look his greatest fear dead in the eye every day, but every day he had to confront it.

And every days travel meant a battle won in the long war of overcoming this fear of darkness. Soon days had turned into weeks, weeks into months and months into years. Until all the effort paid off, and the mental war had ended with a triumphant win on his behalf.

And now, the next time Sulu asked him if he was scared of the dark he could say "I'we owercome it" and truly mean it.

_. . ._

**Sneakpeek:**

_Next Chapter: Prompt 4 - "Can You Fix It?" ft. Kirk and Scotty_

_When one of the dilithium crystals powering the Enterprise ruptures Kirk looks to the ships Captain of Engineering, Montogmery Scott; to solve the problem._

_As the clock constantly counts down on what could potentially be the last remaining minutes of the crew, one large weight of pressure is added onto the engineer's shoulders with each resounding tick._

_It's not a matter of "could he fix it?" But a matter of "could he fix it in_ time_?"_

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**_~A Vulcan's Kiss_**


	4. Just Another Day - Scotty

**_1,000 Light Years_**

**_by_**

**_A Vulcan's Kiss_**

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_Prompt 4: Can You Fix It?_

_When one of the dilithium crystals powering the Enterprise ruptures Kirk looks to the ships Captain of Engineering, Montogmery Scott; to solve the problem._

_As the Spock counts down what could potentially be the last seconds of the crew, the pressure builds._

_But all in all, it's just another day on the Enterprise._

_. . ._

When Scotty accepted his job as Captain of Engineering for the_ Enterprise_ he honestly hadn't thought that the lives of the crew and the ship would be left in his capable, albeit shaking, hands. Really, you'd think that _that_ job would fall onto the shoulders of the Captain or even the First Officer, Spock. But _apparently_, that wasn't the case in this situation.

He had been walking on his way toward engineering, first one there as was usual, when he heard a horrifying _boom_ that still, to this day, makes him yearn for a strong shot of scotch. He'd heard that sound once and had hoped to never hear it again; a dilithium crystal powering the ship had just ruptured.

The whole ship lurched to the left and down a couple feet before righting itself again, people stumbled in the hallways and those near the engineering room broke out into coughing fits as smoke and dust billowed out of the room in thick, grey clouds.

He sprinted the rest of the way to the apartment, smoke and dust swirled in the air in grimy and dense sweeps. A potential problem for eyesight this proved itself irrelevant to the engineer as he had known the layout of the part of the ship by heart even _before _ever setting foot on the vessel.

Pulling a small light out of his back pocket he quickly maneuvered his way through the rubble and debris on the floor and into the back of the room where the generators were. Once there he ran to the nearest intercom and hailed the captain;

"Scotty to Kirk," he spoke in a rush.

"This is Kirk. Scotty! The whole ship just rocked like it'd been hit, I trust you're handling the situation." Kirk's voice filtered through the intercom and into the ears of the disheveled engineer.

"Well, cap'n, 'm afraid tha' in a way it di'. One of tha' dilithium crystals ruptured and we'll be losin' power fas'. But yeh, 'm workin' on it." His accent heavy due to his anxiety, his words came out in a distracted blur as he conducted a quick survey of the damage and verbally logged it onto his PADD, flash light in his other hand.

"One of th-!" There was a pause and Scotty heard muffled voices in the background and what sounded a little like Dr. McCoy yelling at the captain to calm down before Kirk replied again; "I'm sending Spock down to help, he'll be there in a few moments." The Scott looked up from where he was writing down the damage and digested the words for a moment before shouting;

"Wha'?! No, cap'n! Ya' can' do tha'! I need Spock u' there with ya' doin' diagnosti' surveys on tha' ship so I kno' it's power levels! We coul' go do'n an' minute now!" Not even realizing he just denied his captain Scotty jumped the railing surrounding the the generators and easily spotted the one containing the shattered crystal and observed it, leaving the intercom open.

Some time passed before the captain replied again;

"Okay, Scotty. Spock's going to be here on the air ready to give you information about the condition of the ship. You just make sure you solve this problem once and for all."

With those last few words weighing heavily on his mind, Scotty shouted a quick "Alright, cap'n." and continued his work.

The crystal was_ definitely_ broken. _Maybe_ salvageable with a lot of time and a little luck. Of course though, time was exactly what they didn't have.

It looked like one of the wires had somehow been fused into the wrong circuit, resulting in an overload of almost quadruple the amount of watts needed for this specific generator. No wonder the crystal had busted, it had _way_ too much electricity flowing through it then it was meant to handle. It was a limited conductor, not some God-made piece of machinery that could handle just about anything! Once he got his hand on the man who did this to his baby, why he'd gr-

"Spock to Scotty, my numbers are reading as follows; Approximately 49% of the overall fuel is left. At the moment we are losing power at a rate 7.65625% of that 49% per minute, giving you a little over 7 and a half minutes to adjust the crystal and repair flow of electricity through the ship. Failing to do so could result in either _another_ dilithium crystal busting _or_ a total loss of power for the whole ship. I cannot accurately calculate which outcome is more propable then the other, but I deem it insufficient to risk either." Spock supplied in a stoic stone, saying in his own way that if Scotty didn't work fast enough they were done fore.

Scotty quickly mulled the information over in his head as he worked, his hands moving about on the insides of the generator were in the midst of cuts and snips and re-adjustments..

"Thank ya', Spock. An' other informatio' ya can gi' me?" He shouted to the distant intercom, praying with all his heart that he'd be able to save the ship in time.

"None other then that time is of the essence, Mr. Scott." Spock replied, his rumbling voice that of calm. You could always count on Spock to be a stone in a time of potential death.

Throwing himself into his work, Scotty didn't even bother with a reply and continued operating on his baby. Fast minutes for the engineer and slow ones for those on the deck passed and before the Scott new it Spock's voice was emerging from the wall and echoing on the many machines around it.

"We've got 25 seconds of power remaining... 20 seconds...15 seconds...10, 9, 8..." As the numbers dwindled so the volume of the intercom, the words of Spock becoming faint as Scotty worked; lights all over the ship dimming, about to go out. He had gotten all the way to three seconds left before all things on the ship came back on completely with vigor. The whole ship was illuminated in one slow surge until finally, at would have been zero second left, everything was as it should be.

Scotty hopped back over the railing and ran to the com, not knowing he had been put on the loud speaker for all the ship to hear. Raucous cheers resounded at his words and hearts of crewmen settled back down to a normal pace.

"All systems 're go. Power levels will be calibra'ed ba' ta' normal within tha' next few minutes. All in all, 's been jus' another day on tha' _Enterprise_."

. . .

**Sneakpeak:**

Next Chapter: Prompt 2 - "Mind, Heart and Soul" ft. Spock

At first glance, if you were to look at the crew members of the Enterprise you may not be able to spot who plays what role right away.

But after taking a closer look you'd see who was the Mind, who was the Heart and who was the Soul of the operation.

First Officer Spock is the Mind,

Chief Medical Officer Leonard McCoy, the Heart.

Captain James Tiberius Kirk was the holder of the soul,

and together, the triad created the _Trinity _of the Enterprise.

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**_~A Vulcan's Kiss_**


	5. Mind, Heart & Soul - Spock

**_1,000 Light Years_**

**_by_**

**_A Vulcan's Kiss_**

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_Prompt 5: Mind, Heart and Soul_

_At first glance, if you were to look at the crew members of the Enterprise you may not be able to spot who plays what role right away._

_But after taking a closer look you'd see who was the Mind, who was the Heart and who was the Soul of the operation._

_First Officer Spock is the Mind, _

_Chief Medical Officer Leonard McCoy, the Heart._

_Captain James Tiberius Kirk was the holder of the soul,_

_and together, the triad created the _Trinity_ of the Enterprise._

_. . . _

Spock had always thought that to be classified as sentient life one had to have both of the following; a conscious _mind_, as a means to experience subjectivity by. As well as a _heart_, unless you were a species that could function without one or had some type of substitute, having a heart was required to sustain life, to live. Without either one of these, or none of them at all, you couldn't correctly be categorized as a sentient life form. Having known that for as long as he could remember, he never bothered with other _human _things, like _souls_ for example.

He _could_ say that it wasn't until he became of a member of the _Enterprise_ crew that he had ever thought differently, but that would have been a lie, which Vulcan's don't do.

In all actuality, it wasn't until two specific individuals came aboard that his original beliefs had strayed.

Those two specific individuals were one Doctor Leonard McCoy, Chief Medical Officer of the ship; as well as its Captain; James Tiberius Kirk.

The Vulcan wasn't one to give anthropomorphic (humans qualities) to those which were _obviously_, not human. It was pointless, a human habit which he chose not to partake in.

However, one evening after an unusually complicated mission his first thoughts of sentient life started to change. Earlier that day they had been just about to finish up with a new colony they had found on a previously uncharted planet when things began to go not as planned.

Apparently an exiled tribal leader, one who had gotten news of the "strange visitors" decided to make an appearance. Make an appearance by taking his revenge on the band which he had formerly owned in one of two ways.

One, by taking the life of the current tribe leader's innocent daughter, Nyah, who was all of 4. By doing so he had hoped to frighten the visitors away, telling them that this is what they did to those of which they did not like, and demolish all potential connections of his people and any aid they might have gotten otherwise in the process; that was two.

Instead, he had landed himself in Starfleet prison for murder and on the receiving end of Kirk's fist.

Afterwards they had agreed to remain on the planet for the rest of the day as well as the next to help construct a burial for the lost child. They also were to meet with the chief of the tribe, and planet, to set foundation for basic diplomatic functions between the colony and Starfleet after the funeral tomorrow.

Two tribal royals had personally escorted Kirk, Spock and McCoy, the only ones who had beamed down, to three separate tents at the head of the area. After a brief meeting with each other the crewmen of the _Enterprise_ all went on their own ways; McCoy to sleep, Kirk to the Chieftain and Spock to his own camp to meditate.

As he got delved deeper into his state of calm a thought kept persistently trying to cross through the filter of nothingness in Spock's brain. After spending some time attempting to ignore it he relented, as illogical as it was to relent to a _thought_, and what popped into his head was something so inexplicably human that it startled him out of his relaxed state.

To be classified as sentient life one had to have a soul, and the exiled leader didn't have one.

Well, that thought just re-wrote his whole belief on that of sentient life in a few short seconds. At first Spock tried to reason with himself that to be human one didn't require a soul, as he had thought before, just a heart and a mind. But it made sense, didn't it?

There were those humans and being of life who were malicious, who committed acts of evil valiantly as though they enjoyed it.

And there were others, those that would never think to do a thing such as that. They fought for the "good" of the world, not the evil...

If the mind and heart were all that was required to be a sentient life form, out of all those that were, what would drive one group to do wicked and the other to do righteous? There had to be a medium that he hadn't thought about prior to this evening; and a soul would have been the perfect one.

Those without a soul, like the man who killed today, were the evil in the world.

And those with one, like himself and his crew members, were the virtuous - the _good._

The First Officer began pacing the dirt floor as more thoughts wrestled each other in his heads.

Was it possible for one to have more soul, purer, rather, then another? Could a person have a higher level of strength in one of the areas required for sentient life then another?

He believed it so.

If he were to analyze the members of the ship he could easily point out where they excelled greater in one subject then the others.

Take Uhura, for example. Though she was intelligent and has great skill in her craft, she is more a heartfelt person then she is a mindful person, or even soulful.

And were Spock to to analyze the friendship between himself and his two friends as a relationship _or_ a human as a whole, these are the characteristics he'd give each person.

Spock would be the Mind,

and McCoy would undoubtedly be the Heart.

The bearer of the Soul would be Kirk,

and together, the triad created the Trinity of the Enterprise.

A triad for the _goodness_ in the Universe.

. . .

**Sneakpeek: **

Next Chapter: Prompt 6 - An Affinity ft. Sulu

_A spontaneous or natural liking for someone or something, that was the definition of "affinity."_

_Sulu thought that that was dead on in terms of his own "affinities."_

_Just like Doctor McCoy had an affinity for brandy,_

_Spock an affinity for logic, and the Captain an affinity for women, Sulu had some of his own._

_Not just things such as space and fencing, mind you. But Popcorn, and for whatever reason he just couldn't get enough of the stuff._

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**_~A Vulcan's Kiss_**


	6. An Affinity - Sulu

**_1,000 Light Years_**

**_by_**

**_A Vulcan's Kiss_**

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_Prompt 6: An Affinity_

_A spontaneous or natural liking for someone or something, that was the definition of "affinity."_

_Sulu thought that that was dead on in terms of his own "affinities."_

_Just like Doctor McCoy had an affinity for brandy,_

_Spock an affinity for logic, and the Captain an affinity for women, Sulu had some of his own._

_Not just things such as space and fencing, mind you. But Popcorn, and for whatever reason he just couldn't get enough of the stuff._

_. . . _

Sulu had always believed that everyone had their own sort of personal drug they took, something they were addicted to. That one thing that just kept them going.

Well, the Helmsman would eventually find out that these things were called "affinities." Meaning a spontaneous or natural liking for someone or something.

Once he had learnt what these "personal drugs" really were he started noticing what people had affinities and exactly what those affinities were.

By a way of illustration, take a look at Doctor McCoy. When he is overtly stressed his "natural liking" for brandy manifest's itself into his hands and into his system.

Now look at Spock, his most important rapport was_ logic_. That was just a given, a given which the young man hadn't had to think too hard about.

The Captain had an affinity for women, that went without saying.

And just like those three had their personal affinities, Sulu had one of his own. One _other_ the fencing, and space that is.

That affinity was popcorn.

He knew it was childish, really. What grown man would love popcorn as much as he does? Scratch that, what _living being_ would like it as much as he does?

As far as he was concerned he was the only person in the universe with an infatuation as strong as it was.

He wouldn't blame you if you laughed, because honestly, he thinks it hilarious too.

For whatever reason he just couldn't get enough of the stuff, the _real_ stuff that is. Not the unsatisfying attempts made by the replicators, oh no. He liked the good stuff, enough so that every time they went on shore leave he made it a point to buy a pound or so of kernels.

He'd actually grown a collection of different types over the years from all over the_ universe._

He'd eaten the planet Vulcan's personal version of popcorn, given to him by Spock whom he had convinced that it was for "educational purposes." Even though it was really all for "consumption purposes."

He'd even eaten Klingon popcorn, which really had to much Da'nal juice to be edible, in his opinion.

Once he actually created his own hybrid plant for popcorn. In a range of colors varying in all shades once side of the cob would have perfected "mushroom" flakes and the other side would be the ideal "butterfly" flakes.

Flake being the word for popped kernels, "mushroom" the term for the denser and more round flakes and "butterfly" being the typical popcorn.

It was amazing.

He had lime green popcorn, fuchsia popcorn, even multi-colored _rainbow_ popcorn kernels.

He was even able to create holiday themed popcorn and sell it.

He'd never been more proud of himself in his life.

People even started to make _requests. _Before he knew it he was in the midst of his own popcorn selling business on the Enterprise and making a few extra dollars for his pockets. Which he, of course, spent on more popcorn on the upcoming shore leaves.

In the end not only did he have an affinity for popcorn, he was a popcorn _guru._ The God of all popcorn creations, the mastermind.

So, yeah. He considered himself as an outright brilliant person.

Even with his abnormal affinity for popcorn.

. . .

**Sneakpeek:**

Next Chapter: Prompt 7 - Always There ft. McCoy and Spock

It was a couple weeks after McCoy had been forced to mind-meld, unwillingly, with the Spock of the mirror universe for information on the transporter accident.

He'd gotten over it, or at least that's what he kept telling himself.

At first he didn't relive the events of that fateful evening unless he was sleeping, but as the days crept on the nightmare stealthily crept itself into reality every once in a blue moon and plagued him throughout the day.

Apparently today there was one of those blue moons somewhere because it chose to creep its way into overtaking his thoughts while he was at a private meeting with Spock over a game of chess. When he was _winning_, too.

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**_~A Vulcan's Kiss_**


	7. Always There - McCoy and Spock

**_1,000 Light Years_**

**_by_**

**_A Vulcan's Kiss_**

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_Prompt 7: Always There - McCoy and Spock_

_It was a couple weeks after McCoy had been forced to mind-meld, unwillingly, with the Spock of the mirror universe for information on the transporter accident._

_He'd gotten over it, or at least that's what he kept telling himself._

_At first he didn't relive the events of that fateful evening unless he was sleeping, but as the days crept on the nightmare stealthily crept itself into reality every once in a blue moon and plagued him throughout the day._

_Apparently today there was one of those blue moons somewhere because it chose to creep its way into overtaking his thoughts while he was at a private meeting with Spock over a game of chess. When he was winning, too._

_. . ._

It had terrified him, an event which he didn't like to go over again in his mind. But now every time when he'd close his eyes he'd see the mirror Spock as he slowly opened his cold brown eyes on the bio-bed before lifting himself up in one swift movement. And as he would start to speak his words changed from that of what was really said and his body too. He wasn't mirror Spock anymore, he was the real Spock; his Spock.

And McCoy wasn't sure if that terrified him more then the other way around.

"Why does the Captain let you live?" Spock's voice rumbled, shaking the walls of the room in his dream. Quickly he grabbed hold of the Doctor's wrist in a vise-like grip, standing up to his full height; towering over the Doctor. The Doctor who's hand started shaking, wrist started aching and was horrified.

"Why does the Captain let you live?," He screamed, "You. You who are filth, a mere human. Nothing but an emotional, _poor, old_ country Doctor. Why did he not rid of you while he could?" He bellows, keeping hold of the doctors wrist as he pushes him towards the wall; each step accented by a strong "Why? Why? Why?" which reverberated through the walls of the room and through to the core of the shaking McCoy.

Once his captive is flushed completely against the wall and pinned Spock brings up his left hand to the trembling man's face, placing his fingers on all the right key points. Nerve endings, blood vessels, all those required to make the proper connection. Making eye contact with the Doctor as he did so, a look of both malice and sick joy tumbling together in his brown orbs to form as one.

Of course McCoy is able to place together what was supposed to happen next, a Vulcan mind-meld. He'd been there while Spock performed once before, but never like this, never as he was now. Never on an _unwilling_ person.

"I will rid of you. I will rid the Captain, myself and the world of the monstrosity that you are. The horror." His voice boomed in his dream, feeling as if it was going to make the very foundation of the walls surrounding them crumble into nothing.

Had he been capable of using his hands the Doctor would have covered his ears in an effort to save his hearing, but he wasn't able to.

"I will rid of you, and you will be gone." These next words were whispered, almost tenderly so as Spock moved in closer to the face of McCoy's. Faces naught but a few inches apart and bodies even closer, their eyes met. His hot breath fanned across the face of McCoy's, the eyes which were so intense flashed in a dangerous contrast to McCoy's own. Dark brown against a pure, but petrified, bright set of blue eyes.

However stunning the brown pair was they were not human, not Vulcan - not anything

Not Spock's.

Even with this knowledge McCoy couldn't bring his self to stop trembling, to stop being wholly and utterly traumatized.

An infinite number of emotions and feelings soared in his mind, tears fell from his eyes in harsh waves. Pained, guttural moans came from his lips as his lithe body arched toward the fingers holding his face against the wall, his body felt like it was being split in two. His life source like it was being sucked through his skin and into those very fingertips.

"Sp-ock." McCoy's voice broke as he wailed; the usual rough and confident tone reduced to nothing by the Vulcan standing before him. He wasn't even sure _why_ he was calling his name, just that he couldn't help but to do so.

He cried in agony as the torture went on, he really couldn't even tell you what was going on, just that something was. His whole being felt as if it was being beaten mercilessly upon, like the fortress of his mind were being torn apart.

"Spock, Spock, Spock," McCoy kept repeating, the name barely making a sound as he spoke it over and over again. Voice hoarse as he lost all track of time, the pain continuing on and on.

Grant him mercy, oh, Lord, grant him peace from his endless suffering!

"Please, Spock." Those two words were all he could manage anymore, he held on to the mans name like it was all that kept him grounded, even when he preferred not to be. When he couldn't speak it anymore, he thought it, even though he was still being assaulted by the raving pain in his mind, by the very man he was calling to.

"Spock! Where are you?!" He thought as his mind was bombarded once again with oceans of pain.

But then it all started to stop and he heard three words respond in his head;

_"I am here."_

The pain ceased and his mind was flooded with emotions ranging from a deep appreciation to friendship. Even an intense anger that made startled before it was soothed over with a rush of love, which was coming from _Spock_, an insane thought in itself.

It was all too much and nothing was making sense to him and he was still in his mind and he just wanted to get out.

Suddenly it was like he was being pulled from a vacuum located in a black abyss. Next thing he knew he was blinking his eyes, which were wet with tears, but he still couldn't see and then he realized it was because someone was holding him. Which caused him to almost freake out again, but then he realized it wasn't someone restraining him it was someone hugging him.

And the someone was _Spock_.

Spock,_ his_ Spock, who was being almost to human for McCoy to handle.

Spock who was gripping him just a little bit too hard, and wasn't calling him filth and hurting him like in his dream.

Who was asking "Why's" again, not like in the nightmare but "Why didn't you tell me? Why, Leonard?" And McCoy was just so heart broken and relieved at the same time and just _completely overwhelmed _thathe couldn't do anything but hug Spock back and hold him as tightly as he could while a couple sobs made their way out of his system.

Because this was _his_ Spock, the real one.

The one who wouldn't hurt him, who loved him and cared for him. Who was had spoken to him, inside his mind.

Who was even calling him Leonard, and dammit that must of been a God given gift because he didn't think he'd savor his name being spoken from that man as much as he was._  
_

Spock who was know starting to regain control of his emotions after the overload of both his own and McCoy's, but was still listening to the disheveled mans thoughts.

Spock, who had saved him - been his saviour.

Who had been there.

_"I will always be there, Leonard."_

Who would _always_ be there.

. . .

**Sneakpeek:**

Next Chapter: Prompt 8 - Every Once In A While ft. McCoy, Spock and Kirk

Every once in a while McCoy would get struck by an episode where everything that he kept bottled inside decided to pop it's cork and overwhelm him.

His fear of space and how he was stuck in it, how many times Spock and Kirk had almost died and he'd barely save them, all his patients that had died because he couldn't save.

Whenever this happened his automatic reflex to handle the situation was to shut off, he literally couldn't do nothing. It was just what his body did.

Most of the time he stuck it out by himself until the episode passed, but every once in awhile Kirk would find him staring into nothingness and realize what the situation was. He'd call Spock and together they'd do whatever it was they did to fix their broken Doctor.

Today was on of those "every once in a while's."

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**_~A Vulcan's Kiss_**


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